Awards for best, worst of 2017: A year of living nervously

Confetti falls as Sen.-elect Doug Jones, a Democrat from Alabama, center, and his wife, Louise, greet the audience at an election night party in Birmingham, Ala. Confetti falls as Sen.-elect Doug Jones, a Democrat from Alabama, center, and his wife, Louise, greet the audience at an election night party in Birmingham, Ala.

In N.J., party switches can end up with stitches | Editorial

Considering what is happening at the national level, this would be a good time not to question the reasons why a New Jersey Republican elected official would switch to the Democrat Party. But, as the case of Salem County Freeholder Melissa DeCastro demonstrates, broad policy differences between the parties don't carry as much weight in motivating those who prompt an officeholder to do the switching.

Trump’s security strategy falls short, but not in the way his critics say

Niall Ferguson is not surprised by the outright condemnation of Trump's security strategy, given how polarised the world has become, but says its more muscular posture is to be welcomed. Where it falls short is its inattention to non-state threats As 2017 draws to a close, the world has seldom been so binary.

Tribune Editorial: Why Orrin Hatch is Utahn of the Year

Man who left manure at Treasury Secretary Mnuchin's house comes forward, speaks out - A man who appears to be the person who left a gift-wrapped box of horse manure outside the home of U.S. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin on Saturday spoke with AL.com via phone late Sunday evening, calling the incident an "act of political theater." 'A gift-wrapped package of poo': Why a man left a box of manure for Steven Mnuchin - It was one of those gag cards you can buy in a drugstore.

A roundup of recent Michigan newspaper editorials

Michigan State University President Lou Anna Simon has taken the first two important steps in making things right with the scores of young women and girls who were molested by an MSU physician attached to the gymnastics program. Simon, who has been under fire for her lack of urgency in addressing the university's possible culpability in the serial sexual assaults by Dr. Larry Nassar, issued a belated apology last week.

Tuesday, Dec. 26, 2017: No more handouts for General Dynamics,…

Health care reimbursement for rural hospitals throughout our nation is very complex and becoming more and more difficult each day because of the increased regulations and decreased funding by government agencies such as Medicare and Medicaid, which make-up approximately 65 percent of our volume here at Calais Regional Hospital. We continue to work with these agencies, commercial payers and other governmental agencies to improve our cash flow.

Does Cooper favor higher taxes?

It's a fair question to ask given what Charlie Perusse, the governor's budget director, said at a recent press briefing. While explaining that the Cooper administration will likely propose vastly more spending next year than the state will receive in revenue, Perusse complained that all the tax changes enacted by the Republican-led legislature over the years will result in $3 billion less revenue during the 2018-19 fiscal year than what would have been in the case under a straight-line extrapolation of the fiscal policies of the last Democratic governor Perusse worked for, Bev Perdue.